UCLA ranks highly in annual Washington Monthly rankings

The campus is noted for its excellence in research, service and social mobility

Rebecca Kendall |
August 28, 2016

George Foulsham/UCLA

UCLA was ranked No. 1 for economic diversity among the top 25-ranked universities.

UCLA is the No. 8 university in the nation when it comes to improving social mobility, as well as excellence in research and service. According to Washington Monthly’s 2016 College Guide and Rankings released today, UCLA is one of four University of California campuses that made the Top 10. UC San Diego placed 4th, UC Berkeley 7th and UC Davis 10th. Among all public colleges and universities, UCLA placed No. 4.

Factors considered include predicted and actual graduation rates, the percentage of low-income students receiving federal aid, the percentage of students who join the Peace Corps or engage in other forms of community service, and the number of faculty members who receive significant awards and are elected to national academies.

In a first, the annual Washington Monthly magazine guide also included newly available data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, including such information as how much students are earning 10 years after enrolling at a particular college, how likely they are to be paying down the principal on their loans, and the percentage of first-generation students enrolled at each school.

In a related ranking, UCLA placed No. 20 in Washington Monthly’s “Best Bang for the Buck Western Colleges,” which surveyed universities in 12 states.

Regardless of methodology, UCLA consistently performs well across a variety of national and international rankings. Earlier this month, UCLA placed second among American public universities and 12th among all universities globally in the Academic Ranking of World Universities. In May, London’s Times Higher Education’s World Reputation Rankings 2016, which assess the international prestige of institutions of higher learning, placed UCLA No. 2 among all U.S. public universities. In addition, the latest U.S. News and World Report rankings had UCLA at No. 8 on its 2016 Best Global Universities list.